external harddrive query

hey guys,
i have just purchased this external harddrive

http://www.iomega-europe.com/item?SID=d3378b96f5285169420d1cf517dc4c7ed3e:4725&sku=131133638

its an iomega 250gb desktop harddrive

first of all i have searched mg for related threads but have had little luck
1) other external hds come with a feat which says that it backs up your data regularly and does not overwrite the same data from the first backup eg maxtor one touch series . now by the looks of things my hd does not have this feat so can anyone reccomend a way of being able to do regular back ups hassle free
of the threads if read these three are being mentioned
a)drive image xl
b)norton ghost
c)acronis true image

this being my first time backing up i am looking for the simplest prog to use (i dont mind paying to much for it ) but would love a free one

again i have read majors thread on backing up your hd but was a bit confused

2) the second query is short. does anybody know if it matters which way the hd should be positioned ie. flat or on its side or does it matter

to any that reply to this long thread really really appreciate it
cheers fergal

 

UGH...miss a little, miss a lot.

 

Try the link I posted at the beginning of this thread, http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=105810&highlight=acronis+true+image

Hope it is still good. They offer Acronis True Image 7.0 for Free and it is a great backup solution and program.

Steve

 

I'm going to have to learn to type faster, sorry mada

Steve

 

Ha! No worries, I had missed that the OP wants to image his/her hard drive...

 

Wait! ferg46, DO YOU want to image your hard drive? It can be very handy, but is sometimes overkill for the normal home user. The applications you have mentioned are all meant to take bit-by-bit exact copies of your working hard drive that you can use to overwrite your hard drive. This includes your entire windows installation (including updates), all installed programs, and all files.

For most people, it is enough to backup JUST your data files, as the rest can be recreated fairly easily. If this is your case, I would renew my recommendation for a simple batch script.

 

No, you are correct mada. They are just looking to backup data.

Read it too fast. Thank's

Steve

 

first of thanks mada and matcumbie for replys

ok im not sure what imaging means but il try explain what i want or need to ye guys

AIM: to back up all my data(documents,images,photos,video) that i have now and then regularly add to this with new data without duplicating the previous back up

now i have bought the external hd but am confused what to do next as i dont wanna make the wrong decisons

i will try find out what imaging means and edit the post if i get a better understanding of it

thanks again

oh yeah matacumbie i read one of bazzas post about purchising v10 of acronis so i presume the link your giving me is free v7 ,
if so is v10 worth paying for or will v7 do me fine

 

Imaging is essentially turning your entire hard drive into a file. Later on, if you get hit with a virus, or some other problem, you can use this file to restore your computer to EXACTLY the way you had it when you imaged it. This includes all of Windows, all your programs, and all your files. This is very handy, as I said, but is also a very complicated/time consuming method for someone with your needs. I don't think you need any of the apps you mentioned.

Code:

xcopy [I]source[/I] [I]destination[/I] /ekidcy

Running this command will copy all new and updated files from source to destination. If you were to copy this into notepad, and save that file as filename.bat, you would have a program that did your backup for you. This is what I use to copy files to my external hard drive. It's quick and hard to break. Also, if you store your files in more than one location (I keep everything directly on my d: drive), it is easy to add more directories. Post back if you're interested, and I will give you steps to set windows to run this at shutdown.

 

sounds like something that would really help me mada be great if you know of any guides or tutorials

ps mada if you wanna take your time replying you can pm me a guide or post again in this thread thanks either way
oh yeah i dont know if this makes a difference but i have a laptop so sometimes it may not be connected to the external hd
will this effect the batch prog